The Class Trip
by micchon
Summary: Natsume finds herself unlucky when she is forced to move to another coach on the class trip. Fortunately for her, though, she meets Sae for the first time.


And just as all this unfamiliar class were getting ready to sit down, get their snacks out and start chatting away about boyfriends and dating and movies and pop idols and such...I was in the unknown. Then as I was getting on, this pretty bespectacled girl noticed me. She smiled and patted the window seat next to her. I fumbled quickly, sitting down next to her. I was getting all uncomfortable inside. I didn't know anyone here. I just shut my eyes; maybe that would help.

"So…why did you end up on this coach instead of your class's one?"

"Well…our class's…coach had a lot of equipment…it couldn't all fit in the load…so they had to put the rest on…my seat!" My seat on my class' coach was the closest to the door, so I was randomly chosen to go to another coach temporarily, so to speak. Any other girl would have cried out about it, kicked a fuss or something, but I didn't really care. Not like my class would have missed me anyway.

"…and so you got moved over here…" I nodded.

"What about any other classmates? Surely you can call them over there…tell them you're okay?" The girl next to me asked.

"No…I…don't really…have anyone to talk to." I was a loner in my class. But I didn't actually mind that; I enjoyed it, if anything. Reading was one of my hobbies, so I did that a lot. Plus I was taught early in life that education was important, so high grades were very important to me too, and I worked hard to get them. I wasn't the class representative or anything, but good grades were always a good thing.

"But…that must be terriblel! There must be surely someone you like talking to in class!" Nope. No one.

"…well don't worry about anything. You're talking to me, after all? You've found one friend…" She smiled. This girl seemed nice.

I assumed this woman dressed up as a tour guide was this class' homeroom teacher. How she could even act like a proper and decent teacher was beyond my guess. We were supposed to be going to Mount Fuji and yet she's talking to us about nearby amenities? I don't want three hours of this crazy woman and her high-pitched voice, saying any inane thing that came to mind. I was starting to get cross. But then I felt my new companion's hand on mine.

"It's okay. Really." I tried my best to smile back. "…It's a long ride I know, but don't worry." I felt really happy here. If I were on my class' coach, I'd just be staring at the window or be reading a book or even be catching up with homework. But I was here.

"Umm…w-what's your…name?" I asked her.

"Sae. It's Sae. And you?"

"Uhhhh…N-Natsume!" She had suddenly gotten me all flustered and red. I was already incredibly nervous about…well…everything. I was in a totally new world. Even my suitcase was on my class' coach; so I was just lumped onto this coach by the other teachers carrying nothing except my school satchel. I had to stay calm or I'd get sick myself.

"Okay, Natsume…Any particular or outstanding hobbies or interests? Or music? Do you like music?" I appreciated her starting conversation. Naturally, I would just switch off any other girl or boy who wanted to talk to me. But this Sae seemed…different somehow. Like she genuinely did care, unlike any other faceless classmate.

"...Umm…reading, I like that."

"Me too! I love it! I'm a writer in fact!" She replied enthusiastically. How fascinating! Sae actually wrote!

"What kind of writer are you, then?" I was curious to know more…

"Umm…mostly fiction…I started off with fan-fiction, but writing original fiction gave me this nice warm feeling inside…"

"Wow! Can I read any?"

"Uhh…are you sure…? You might hate it! I don't want you to be disappointed!" I wouldn't do that. Beside if her work was bad, I wouldn't play the critic over her.

"Hehehe, well sorry to disappoint you but all of my work is back at home! Maybe I'll show you another time after the trip…" Seeing her again after all this…that sounded nice too.

"How are you feeling now, Natsume?"

"…A little better, thank you."

"Well I hope you're not feeling left out, Natsume…." Sae got one of her fruit drinks from her bag and offered it to me.

"Here." Did she think I was car sick or something? Well, maybe I was feeling a little unwell. I thanked her and took a sip. Cherry. Very sweet-tasting, but nice nonetheless. I thanked her again and handed it back to her.

"No, no, keep it! I have more with me!" I felt like treasuring this juice box. I looked at it, turned back to Sae, who was still smiling at me, and I was on the brink of tears. Where these tears came from, I just didn't know.

"Natsume? What's wrong?" She asked, looking shocked.

"Why…why are you doing this to me? You don't even know me…When we arrive at the hotel, we're going to part, and I'll go back to my small life at my class…"

She took my hand again. "Because you're on your own here on this coach, and no one deserves to be alone, Natsume-chan." Hey wait, Natsume…chan?

"Yeah! A friendly nickname's the first step to a real friendship. You can call me Sae-chan if you want!" Yeah. Sae-chan. That sounded nice.

At this point, the homeroom teacher was looking very unwell herself; then an unnaturally pretty girl with equally unnatural red locks of beautiful hair stood up out of nowhere and got her to sit down. Sae giggled at herself.

"That's my Hiro." I assumed that that was her.

"She's…pretty."

"Umm…t-t-thank you!" Why is _she_ saying thank you?

We were nearly there now. Everyone else on the coach was in their own worlds, all busy chatting anyway and having fun. I just gazed out at the window, half-asleep, my head just resting on Sae's arm; her suggestion in fact that I try to sleep the rest of the way. We were on a road looking out to kilometres of pine trees. The coach was going so quickly, I couldn't make out any trees in particular.

From out of nowhere, a loud scream on the tannoy; their homeroom teacher, instead of standing, she was sat cradling a sick bag:

"O-o-okay, everyone! From what I've been told by the kind driver, we're about to arrive at Mount Fuji! Please remember to collect all of your things and don't leave anything behind…" Sae-chan gave the red-haired girl a nod. Then, a moment later:

"…oh yes, and don't forget about the girl from Class D who had to be moved to this coach. Say hi to her before she goes back to her class when we all arrive at the hotel!" I couldn't believe it. They were all so kind to me, everyone. I never got anything like this in my class; they would have just given me some tiny greeting before carrying on with their own happy lives.

"There, you see, Natsume-chan! You're not alone! You're with friends!" Sae-chan said to me, beaming. I was just crying happy tears. I just felt like packing my stuff and leaving Class D for this one there and then. I was hoping they would take me. As if that would happen.

All of the coaches had parked now, and everyone was getting off. Time for me to re-join my class. I stepped down onto the car park and saw my class' coach in the distance. I felt so depressed.

"…I don't want to go."

"Natsume-chan?" Sae-chan turned to me, already getting her bag from the coach hold.

"I don't want to go back to my class. My class sucks! I want to transfer here!"

I was starting to get upset and emotional and all sorts of things. It had only been three hours. Three hours ago we were all back at the school. I was with my class, getting told by my homeroom teacher that I was to be moved to another class' coach; they just didn't have enough room for me. The old Natsume would not have given a damn, but looking at it now, I felt hurt and a little betrayed by what my class did to me. Why I don't know…I was still an unknown in my class. A nobody.

Sae-chan just walked over to me and hugged me tightly. "Natsume-chan…I want that too…"

And even if I knew I couldn't change anything and have myself transferred, I didn't want to lose her. I'd known her only three hours ago, but Sae-chan was such a nice person.

We agreed to exchange phone numbers and email addresses, and we even went out the month after the class trip. But after that…I never got to see her again. Her class was in a different side of mine. And in time, I just…got angry. Not at her…I could never be angry with her; just myself. Don't get me wrong…I would give anything to be on good terms with her again. I guess one-sided relationships do have benefits. She can't see me, but I can at least try to see her. We can pass each other in school and sometimes I'll playfully scoff at her, or she'll put me down. But the truth is…the crush I have on her is too much. A wonder, however, if she ever felt anything for me…


End file.
